India more than Delhi; States must bigger role in foreign policy –Narendra Modi

Calling for a greater role for states in issues of foreign relations, Gujarat Chief Minister and BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, said it was time to show the world that India was not just Delhi. He said that, foreign policy has to be driven by people and not politicians sitting in Delhi. The time has come for the economic and cultural strengths of different states are leveraged to strengthen the position of the country globally.

Delivering the Nani A Palkhivala memorial lecture, Modi said states have to be encouraged to partner with foreign countries to develop strong commercial links. At the moment, the states have no responsibility as far as India’s global relations were concerned. Modi mooted a strategy wherein each state could be asked to focus on a specific country and develop long-term links. People of the states may be encouraged to learn the language of the country they were partnering. “We should assign one country to one State. Now tell me, can’t Tamil Nadu take care of one country?” he asked the 3,000-strong crowd that thronged the centenary auditorium of University of Madras.

Commenting on the UPA government’s policies, he said the decision-making has become so dysfunctional that response to terrorism had been weak and even the much-needed arms modernisation had not taken place. In addition, the country is faced with even greater security threats such as cyber attacks. He said that, wars will no longer be fought in the borders. There will be proxy wars. For this, it is not enough if we raise walls of humans but we should also build walls of minds and hearts. He added that, India had been the greatest victim of terrorism in the world.

He criticised that, if China gets in, we’re watching... when Pakistan decapitates our soldiers, we’re waiting...People don’t know who is running the country... all this is happening because there is no seriousness (on part of the government). The Gujarat Chief Minister further said it was important to understand how to attract the world to India, especially in a situation where many of the countries in Asia look at India as their big brother.

Giving an example, he recalled a letter he wrote to the PM suggesting that India could form a club of countries that had the luxury of higher solar radiation to harness clean energy. Also, he suggested a corpus fund for greater research on solar-based technology, which could help India tide over its dependence on fossil fuels. “But you know what would have happened to that letter,” he quipped, suggesting there was no reply. He said that it was also the duty of the nation to ensure the safety of the Tamils of Sri Lanka. Modi also said tourism has generated $3 trillion business globally. But India has failed miserably to take advantage of this industry.